1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a snap hook, and more particularly to a snap hook that will not hurt a user's finger and is easy to assemble.
2. Description of the Related Art
With reference to FIG. 6, a conventional snap hook comprises a body (91), a sliding latch (92), a spring (93) and a swivel (94).
The body (91) has a shaft (912) and a hook (911). The shaft (912) is tubular and has an upper end (914), a lower end (915), a guide slot (917) and two annular collars (918). The upper end (914) of the shaft (912) is open. The lower end (915) is closed. The guide slot (917) is defined longitudinally through the shaft (912) and communicates with the upper end (914) of the shaft (912). However, where the guide slot (917) communicates with the upper end (914), two sharp edges are formed, which can easily injure a person operating the snap hook. The two annular collars (918) are formed parallel to each other at the lower end (915) of the shaft (912). The hook (911) has a proximal end, a distal end and an opening (913). The proximal end is formed on and protrudes longitudinally from the shaft (912) at the upper end (914). The distal end aligns with the upper end (914) of the shaft (912). The opening (913) is defined between the distal end of the hook (911) and the upper end (914) of the shaft (912).
The sliding latch (92) has a sliding rod (921) and a thumb tab (922). The sliding rod (921) is mounted slidably in the shaft (912), protrudes from the upper end (914) of the shaft (912) and has a distal end and a proximal end. The distal end selectively abuts the distal end of the hook (911). However, the sliding rod (921), the guide slot (917) or the distal end of the hook (911) is easily deformed during assembly when the sliding rod (921) is inserted into the upper end (914) of the shaft (912). The thumb tab (922) is formed on and protrudes radially from the sliding rod (921) and is mounted slidably in the guide slot (917).
The spring (93) is mounted in the shaft (912) between the proximal end of the sliding rod (921) and the lower end (915) of the shaft (912), presses the sliding latch (92) against the distal end of the hook (911) and closes the opening (913) until the thumb tab (922) is pressed toward the lower end (915) of the shaft (912). However, after extended use, the spring (93) weakens, and the snap hook easily opens when the thumb tab (922) is inadvertently pressed or struck.
The swivel (94) is connected rotatably to the shaft (912) between the annular collars (918) and has an upper flat surface (941) and an eye. The upper flat surface (941) is mounted rotatably on the shaft (912) between the annular collars (918) and has a mounting hole (942). However, the upper flat surface (941) must be crimped or squeezed to be held between the annular collars (918). The mounting hole (942) is formed through the upper flat surface (941) and has a bottom end. The eye extends down from the upper flat surface (941).
Furthermore, components of the conventional snap hook are commonly cast so components may vary somewhat in size, which further complicates the fabrication process and causes the sliding latch (92) to be overly loose.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a snap hook to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.